General Chris Abutu Garuba was an artillery officer in the Nigerian Army who rose to become the military governor of Bauchi State (1985-1988). He later became the Commanding Officer, 82 Division of the Nigerian Army and subsequently, the Commandant of the National War College, Abuja.
Let us start with your early days; I believe you are Idoma from Benue State.
I am happily Idoma. We call it Zone C constituency of Benue.
Why Zone C?
Well, there is a political divide —the state is split along three constituencies – zones A, B and C. Our brothers, the Tiv, make up two zones – A and B, and we the Idoma constitute Zone C.
Where did you go to school?
My early days were spent in Idoma land. I went to primary school in Otukpo, what was then Methodist Central School. Before then, I went to NA Central School, which was a junior primary school.
During our time, primary school used to be in two sections; we had junior primary school and senior primary school. I did the junior primary school in Otukpa, my birthplace, from 1956 to 1959. Then I moved to Otukpo from 1960 to 1961. It was supposed to be from 1960 to 1962 but I did not complete Primary 7. I skipped that and went to St Michael Secondary School, Aliede for secondary education. I don’t have a first school leaving certificate.
Were you promoted beyond Primary 7 because you were good enough to go to secondary school?
I was driven from school because I didn’t have a ‘Student Companion.’ In those days, there was a book called ‘Student Companion’ and we were asked to buy it, but I didn’t buy. After Christmas, I was supposed to go to Class One with some sets of new books, one of which was ‘Student Companion’ but I didn’t, so we were driven from school.
All of you who didn’t have the ‘Student Companion’?
Those who didn’t have were driven from school.
You were not allowed to go to primary seven?
We were asked to go home and buy the book and come with it, and if we didn’t come with it, we should not come back to school.
My father was a soldier and they were in Lagos. When I was driven from school, I had to go home, but going home, I branched opposite school, across the railway line, St Mary Catholic School, to meet my mother’s sister.
I went to complain to her that I had been driven from school. They were doing interview for secondary school to select boys that could go to secondary school at Aliede.
I did the exam with the people who were inside. Some didn’t come. Some couldn’t afford the money to come from the whole of Idoma land—different schools – so I got the opportunity to do the exam.
I did the exam and I passed. I did very well. Later, I think it was February, they published the results in all the schools, and my name was number three on the list.
It was not a disadvantage to you, so why didn’t you have a primary school certificate?
I wasn’t the only one; there were few others who didn’t have first school leaving certificate. They skipped Standard 6 and went straight to secondary Class 1.
Was it a Catholic school?
Yes.
Was it a big change for you to move from your background as a Methodist?
At the early stages in our lives, religion wasn’t the issue. We were just going to school and playing. On Sundays if your mother was at home you would follow her to church.
It was when I went to the secondary school at Aliede that religion played a part in my life because we were grounded as if we were going to be trained as priests.
We were going to church. And we would wake up by 5am, and by 6am you were at the chapel for prayers. That was when I formed the culture and habit of praying and living a Christian lifestyle till today.
Did you escape becoming a priest?
Priesthood wasn’t in any way my concern; I couldn’t have become a priest.
Why?
I was a bad boy, so I couldn’t have become a priest. I recall that Cardinal John Onayeikan was my senior in school.
So, you were in the same school?
Yes. He was also in St Michael’s. He was ahead of me. He was in Form 6 when I was in Form 1. I tried to be a good boy. I think I was a good boy but I wasn’t a faithful boy in church. I was an altar boy, and one day I took a sip.
Of the wine?
Yes.
You were not supposed to take it?
I was not supposed to take it. We were four who were serving mass – myself, one Edwin Emaku who ended up as a priest, then Audu Ogbeh, a former minister of agriculture, and one other boy, Gregory, another classmate of mine. Audu Ogbeh alerted the priest that the wine was running out and needed replacement. The priest didn’t hear, so I said well, let me take another sip because the wine was sweet. I was a stubborn boy, so I took a sip. Three others took sips. I was the last man to gulp. Being greedy, I took another gulp in a hurry because the priest just came in.
It spilled on your dress?
It stained my costume instead of the red part. It decided to stain the white portion of my outfit. When the priest came in, initially he saw that my garment was not clean and something had happened.
There wasn’t much wine left, so he said we should put more. I said that was all left and he noted it.
At the end of the mass, we had to go to the sacristy to bid him farewell. In the course of doing that, he held my garment and asked, “Christopher what is this?” And because it touched it so low, I couldn’t see that it was stained.
You didn’t notice it?
I didn’t notice it; I didn’t know. My colleagues knew but they didn’t tell me. That was the price I had to pay. I was summoned for punishment at the end of the mass. I met my colleagues and said, “You people didn’t tell me that I had stained my costume.” They said they didn’t see it.
I warned all of them and said they had to save me because if I was taken to the principal I would be gone. I warned that if they lied against me I would stab them with knife. That was when I knew that I wasn’t going to be a priest.
At that time, Form One boys carried their cutleries in their cups, so when we went to the principal for the case, everybody said they didn’t see me and I didn’t drink. The priest insisted that he saw me. He swore that I drank, so I took my cutlery and stabbed him.
The priest?
Yes. I stabbed him towards his heart. I was 14 or 13 years old. It didn’t go inside much but it wounded him; blood came out. They rushed him to hospital and that was the end of the case. So he said I could never be a priest, that I should join the Army. I kept working on it.
How did you join the Army?
During my final year at St Michael’s they had introduced the High School Certificate (HSC) for those who wanted to become doctors. Chemistry, Physics and Zoology were added to the curriculum. I chose to become a military doctor. I wanted to be a medical doctor before joining the army.
Two of us were chosen to go to St John’s College, Kaduna. So, after our West African School Certificate (WASC) examination, we went to St John’s College in January for our HSC.
And while there, in line with the northernisation policy of Sardauna, lecturers from the military academy were visiting secondary schools and talking to final year and first year students in HSC about career opportunities in the armed forces.
They were mostly Indian officers from the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). We asked questions and they answered. I raised my hand and said I wanted to join the Army as a specialist. After listening to me, the Indian guy asked me to remain standing. He said he was not a magician but he was going to predict what might happen.
He advised me not to join the Army as a medical doctor, saying there was an opportunity for me to join as a combat officer and rise to the rank of a General. With my composure, height and bearing, he felt that I would be like General Aguiyi Ironsi who commanded the multinational peacekeeping force of the United Nations, that I would probably become the second person to make my country proud as a UN Force commander. He advised that I should consider that opportunity.
So, you abandoned the HSC and moved to NDA?
We both abandoned the HSC and moved to the NDA and started training there. Unfortunately, many of Idoma students who were in the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) came to the NDA to ask us to go back to St John’s to finish our HSC, then come back and continue with a career, saying that war was coming and we would lose our lives. They said the army would rush us to the warfront and we would all die there.
They did everything to convince us but we had made up our minds not to go back to St John’s. We wanted to stay in the NDA and make a new career there.
One day, when they came, we ambushed them and our seniors gave them frog jump and warned them to stop coming to entice us with rosy promises of university education.
Subsequently, you had first and second degrees along the way?
Yes. I didn’t go to the ABU; I went abroad. I went to the United States and got my first degree there. I got my master’s later in the University of Jos. After my retirement I still went to the University of Abuja and got my PhD.
Did you ever regret going to the Army and leaving your dream to be a doctor?
The dream wasn’t really to be a doctor but to be in the Army. That was the ultimate and that’s why joining the NDA was a dream come true. I fitted in, I saw it as fun. I saw the army as part of me. It was something I looked up to, so I didn’t have stress. I did it joyfully.
You moved a bit away from the mainstream army to what I may call political army. When the Babangida coup happened you were part of it; is that correct?
No. I wouldn’t say I was part of the coup.
The report was that you were one of the officers who led the arrest of Gen Salihu Ibrahim, then the GOC in Jos?
No. That was hearsay.
So, you never served in artillery school in Bauchi?
No. In fact, the artillery school was not in Bauchi, it was at Kachia. It is the armour school that was in Bauchi, and I didn’t belong to the armour school, I belonged to the artillery corps.
You were made a colonel and governor of Bauchi State; did you have anything to do with the coup that brought Babangida into power?
I did not even know about the coup. I was playing golf when friends or golfers saw my name on Saturday morning and my photograph in Daily Standard, which was a daily newspaper publication of Plateau State. They said, “Chris you have been made the governor of Bauchi State. Bauchi is not far, we will be coming to play golf there.”
So it took you by surprise?
I asked what they meant and they showed me my photograph. They didn’t give me the chance to complete my game, so I abandoned it and returned to the barracks, where I saw that my house was also besieged by people waiting to see me. I peeled off from there again to Jos and went to my guest house, which nobody knew. That was how it fizzled away.
Did you have a good relationship with Babangida, who was the leader of the new military regime?
I wouldn’t say I had a relationship with him. I didn’t know Babangida then; the only relationship one could describe was a leader-student relationship. He was my superior, but I never served under him before then. So he didn’t know me closely.
Did the people of Bauchi accept you, or were there people who opposed your being there?
Initially, maybe by virtue of my name, people were not very happy to see a Chris coming to be their governor. But within a short time I demonstrated my vision and mission for the job and saw that the people developed interest in me. They were happy to have me. They liked my programme; they enjoyed it. I think I was able to carry them along.
I left there many years ago, but till today, the people of Bauchi see me as their governor. If I meet them at the airport or in offices, a Bauchi man always sees me as one of them.
What were those things you did in Bauchi that endeared you to the people?
I wanted to leave a mark in the state, so I came up with a development programme that had not started in other states. That was the Bauchi Integrated Rural Development Programme (BASRIDA). It was novel to Bauchi and I began the implementation faithfully and it was appreciated by the people. In fact, it got to a point the federal government had to hijack it and introduced what they called the Department of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFFRI).
I am happy to say that when the then head of state, President IBB visited Bauchi, he told the people that the idea of DFRRI was borrowed from the Bauchi State Rural Development Programme, which confirmed that we started it before the federal government.
In addition to rural development, did you also start the Inland Bank?
I did many things for Bauchi. I set up the Inland Bank; it was our baby. We didn’t have money in Bauchi at that time, so I launched an appeal fund and we were able to get about N2million. I told members of the Executive Council that I wanted to set up a bank. They said there was Bank of the North, but I said it belonged to the North.
I touched everywhere, including the economic life of the state, sports, socials and education. I introduced free education and scholarship for doctors to come from any part of Nigeria to serve in Bauchi. But it didn’t go down very well because people felt I was going to use the resources of Bauchi to train others. They didn’t like it, but it worked well at the initial stage and died naturally. Bauchi didn’t have many doctors at that time and people were dying of illnesses that could have been avoided. To train a doctor would take such a long period, but I wasn’t going to be there for that long. So I actually used people who were already halfway into their medical training and trained them for the remaining days to become doctors. It had its pros and cons, but it wasn’t very bad. It helped to build a united Nigeria and give the impression that Bauchi was a very broadminded state that welcomed people.
I also revived and transformed the Yankari Game Reserve.
Tell us about the rest of your career in the Army after being a governor; you even became a General. Was it hard to go back to the mainstream military after that political job?
As I said, the military was something I looked up to from when I was a young man. My father was already in the Army.
My relationship with the military president, Babangida, was based on integrity, which I had. I also had merit, as well as professionalism, which I developed.
The point is that in everything I did, in terms of professional ability, I demonstrated extraordinary competence and efficiency and excelled. These things attracted leaders and drew attention. I think that basically, that was what drew me nearer to Babangida.
So, you were quickly promoted GOC and later on, commandant of the war college?
I was not promoted ahead of any member of my course. We were promoted as officers who demonstrated excellence. We were promoted at when due.
Among my colleagues I was always promoted on time.
And my course was good. My colleagues distinguished themselves in their various careers, skills and professions.
Can you mention names?
David Mark distinguished himself, not only as a successful military General; he was also a president of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for many years.
General Tunde Ogbeha was also my colleague who distinguished himself as a senator and in other areas. Mike Akhigbe ended up as Chief of General Staff and was head of the Navy. General Kaziz Alwali Kazir was an artillery officer like me; he was once a Chief of Army Staff. General Malu was also my colleague and course mate. He also ended up as Chief of Army Staff and ECOMOG commander.
General Raji Rasaki was the governor of Lagos State. General Tunde Olurin was an ECOMOG commander and governor of Oyo State.
General Adisa was also a governor of Oyo State and I think a minister of works.
So, my course was good. It was made up of young men who were not afraid of challenges. They were very courageous and audacious.
During the civil war we almost carried ourselves to the warfront and the government was not happy with us for that.
You hadn’t finished training at the NDA and you wanted to go to the warfront?
Yes. That was because we didn’t feel happy that we were there and they were bringing emergency training systems and training people for the war. We were complaining. We wanted to go to the warfront but they said it was not the policy of the government.
So you didn’t go to the war?
No. We were commissioned at the tail end of the war, so we were only involved in the mop up operations.
There is an interesting aspect of your career, which was predicted by the Indian officer who met you in college—that you would be a UN commander like General Aguiyi Ironsi. How did that go?
I was appointed in 1993 as a force commander to the United Nations to serve in Angola. It was one of my classmates in St John’s College, Peter Ego and few others that reminded me of the Indian’s prediction.
In Angola, you were supposed to separate the MPLA from UNITA, those fighting factions; was it a difficult assignment?
It was a very difficult assignment, in the sense that you were not carrying weapons, so you couldn’t defend yourself. It metamorphosed from peacemaking mission to peacekeeping. I served as the chief military observer during the first year. Subsequently, I became the first force commander of the multinational peacekeeping force to Angola, drawn from 48 countries.
We were exposed to minefields planted by UNITA forces that incapacitated military contingents and observers. I remember occasions where I survived near plane crash.
In Angola?
Yes.
What happened?
We lost an engine and the pilot drew my attention to it. The engine had failed and the second one could follow. I said that since we were flying along the Atlantic coast he should stay on course, and in the event that the second engine failed, we should crash into the Atlantic Ocean and perhaps we would save some lives.
I told the Nigerian ambassador that we lost an engine and he fainted; the bloody civilian he fainted. Some of my staff also fainted.
So, there was commotion on board?
Yes. My ADC just married and hadn’t had a child, so he felt that it was not the way he should die. I encouraged them as if I was not part of the people on board. Being the commander I had to give them assurance and plead with them to remain calm. I assured them that we were not going to crash, that God was in control.
Eventually, we crashed-landed; and luckily, people at the airport were waiting for us. The runway was surrounded. The fire brigade came and they were able to get us out of the plane. There was smoke everywhere, and my neck kind of twisted. I was rushed to the hospital and they gave me a neck guard.
They were able to revive the ambassador. I don’t think we lost any of my men; maybe one or two, but I can’t remember losing anybody because I was taken away immediately as the force commander.
There was this story that you were considered as Chief of Defence Staff as Gen Abdulsalam was going to be retired, but suddenly, Abacha died and he became the head of state and that put you in a difficult position with the new head of state; how true is that?
Well, I don’t know. I don’t want to make a comment because I was not informed. Unlike now, during the good old days, we never discussed appointments ahead of announcement.
So, you never heard that you were going to become a Chief of Defence Staff?
Nobody told me. Even if I was told, it was speculation. People normally speculate. There were many people who were expected to become Chief of Army Staff but they never made it.
Once your name begins to feature in such appointment you will never make it because those who are making the appointments keep it to their chests. They don’t make it public. It is not like now when I understand that people have to pay to get appointments. It was not like that during my time in the military; we never lobbied. It wasn’t our culture.
You were considered on merit by your leaders and commanders. They recommended you for positions they believed you were capable of handling.
When you retired, did you think of going into politics like some of your colleagues?
Well, I once ventured into it. I tried to go into the Senate but I knew that it was not a place people like me should go at that time because as a soldier, my two in the afternoon is two in the afternoon, my black is black to me, white is white, I know how to call a spade a spade. That was my upbringing.
I didn’t know how to lie and didn’t want to start lying at that age, but I don’t know whether to say that people deceived me. Some people came to me and said I had done so much, even without being in politics and it was payback time, so I should come and people would vote me in as a senator.
I told them that David Mark was already there and he was my colleague, so I needed to talk to him first, but they said no. They said I should just go ahead because I was popular.
I also said that Lawrence Onoja, another colleague of mine, wanted to be governor, so all of us would not be going into politics at the same time, so we needed to talk, but they said I should just go and run for Senate and Onoja could run for governorship. And you know that David Mark had stayed there for too long, so it would not be easy to confront him.
And politics is not a place you would stay for long and want to leave for somebody. Nobody ever leaves or surrenders power to you, you have to go for it and tell people what you have done or what you can do for them. You need to convince them to vote for you.
Some of my boys in the village called me and said they did not think I should go into politics because I was too frank. They thought I was too straightforward, unlike politicians.
And by then you had spent some money?
Yes. People were asking for money and other things. They said I should not waste my money because they would not vote me and I said okay.
We had bought some vehicles to campaign, but I took their advice to heart because they were there before me. And what they said to me was what happened.
So, you pulled out?
I allowed it to run through, but I didn’t win. I was not good enough to face David Mark, who had a strong infrastructure and I didn’t know. I just came out of the Army and didn’t know that politics was not about speaking the truth. It is not about fulfilling your promises.
What about farming, which is another activity retired Generals tend to go into. I think you tried, how was the experience?
I embarked on farming and got loan from Agric Bank, what they call Agric Development Bank (NACB). I got a N3 million loan from the bank to set up a farm.
My farm was working very well in my place in Zone C. I constructed a dam, fish farm with 52 ponds. Till today, it remains the largest pond of fish farm in the northern part of our country. The landmass is 1,000 hectares.
I had a fish farm component and wanted to produce shrimps and prawns for export. I got people from Tel Aviv to design the farm for me, which they did, but there was lack of airport at that time as the one in Makurdi was purely for military use and Abuja was not opened to night use. That was in the 1980s. And from Enugu, the road was very bad, so it didn’t work. I converted it from prawn to an ordinary fish farm.
I also imported about 50 pigs from Bulgaria to set up a farm for the training of students from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, who were involved in animal husbandry, especially those who were into vet medicine. They were using my farm as a study ground and reference.
The rest of the farm was devoted to poultry, where I had up to 10,000 chicks. And I grew sorghum for Bendel Brewery. They were not paying me; they are still owing me. The brewery crystal got liquidated.
The farm was doing well, but when I moved to Angola I didn’t have a competent person to look after it. The veterinary doctor who was looking after Dr Paulibrough, the Bulgarian, and some Indians who were managing it, didn’t do much good work.
My brothers and sisters were going there to steal properties and sell. That was how the farm was run aground. But luckily, when I came back I was able to try to revamp it and was able to pay back the bank loan. So, I was happy.
I tried to start it again and it was progressing well, but I noticed that there was a lot of stealing happening.
What were they stealing?
They were stealing eggs, for example. I remember that I bought rain boots and made it compulsory for workers to wear.
I remember that I was there one weekend to see how the farm was running and noticed that when people closed from work, instead of wearing their rain boots they would hang it on their shoulders. I blew the whistle and asked everybody to stay where they were and had my security men go round to see why they were not wearing their boots. When we flipped some of the boots over, we saw one or two chickens inside. Some had eggs. Everybody going out had something to sell or eat.
Even the pigs suffered the same fate. Just to provide some water for the fish and drinking water for the people, I found that every market day, one pig would die of internal hemorrhage the workers caused. And they would go and clean it up at the dam and take the meat, sell and share the money.
I never knew until one day, as a typical soldier, I said that since the pigs were dying, let us create a burial ground for them. But we found out that what they were burying there was the faeces and carcass from the pigs.
What about the fish?
I told you that we had 52 ponds, out of which 40 were for producing catfish, tilapia and giraruwa. What happened there was that there was an internal problem with the management and staff, so to get at the managing director there, they decided to poison 15 ponds with gammalin. The next morning, all the dead fish were floating. That was a big loss to me.
They sent for me and I rushed there and saw it. I had to tell the governor then, Gabriel Suswan. He came and saw it and was very annoyed. We tried to arrest the people but they ran away. However, we managed to arrest few of them who we punished. Because of that, I decided to close the farm.
Have you given up farming?
I have not given up. I only decided to close it temporarily because of too much stealing. And there was bad blood between workers and the management. It was doing well. Everybody who worked there had a motorcycle. They were doing very well. Now, I want them to suffer a bit. They have sent to me to say they have suffered enough and think I should open the farm now. They came and pledged that they would not do that again.
That they will not resume stealing?
I have also seen that most people who were stealing because they couldn’t stop, since the farm was closed and those things were vandalised, went outside to steal and police caught up with them. Most of them have lost their lives. So, I don’t think that if I re-open the farm there would be much stealing again.
What do you do in your private life? What are your hobbies?
Well, when I was a governor.
I saw somewhere where they said you liked adventure; what kind of adventure?
I like adventure. I like to go into new areas; I like to discover new grounds all the time.
Does that mean you like travelling?
I like travelling. I like to do weird things.
What do you do in your retirement?
I am a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government. And I give lectures to military institutions when they invite me, both here in Nigeria and abroad.
In 2015 I decided to go back to the university for my PhD in Policy Analysis. I completed the programme in 2019/2020 in the University of Abuja.
I have decided to use my PhD well to widen my horizon and make a case for my children, that nobody is above the age of learning. We will continue to read and study until we are no more.
I also wanted to tell my children that it is not enough to get a first degree; you must keep yourself current with life generally, education and development.
In addition, I develop my time to serving God. I give a lot of attention to my faith. When I reflect on my life I see the hand of God. So when I retired, I decided to build a church and embark on evangelism.
At home or here in Abuja?
Both in Abuja and at home. Wherever I find myself I want to serve God faithfully, in spirit and holiness.
So, you have gone back to your St Michael days.
Yes. God has done a lot for me. I have seen what many of my colleagues and classmates went through and some who have died, and God is still sparing me. That I am still alive is not by my making and I don’t want to take it for granted. I made a covenant with God that as long as I have life I am going to continue to serve him as a priority. That is what I am doing till today.
How big is your family and how is your family life?
I have 10 children – nine boys and one girl. I was married to my late wife. I have only one wife at a time.
So, you remarried?
Yes. My wife has two children from her previous marriage, so when I add them to mine, I have 12 children—two girls and 10 boys.
It has been a happy family life. I thank God who has blessed me with the children. I don’t have any problem with them; they are not giving me any trouble. They are not into drug or cultism, or anything that will bring disrepute or disgrace to the family.
They are all faithful and God-fearing. And I must say that those who are in Nigeria, no matter where they are or where they go, we meet every Saturday and pray to God. We do what we call home fellowship. We usually thank God for what he has done for us and what he continues to do for us. We praise and worship him and make him know that we are committed to him. We pledge that we will continue to serve him as long as he gives us life.
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